An Unexpected Holiday
by LadyDeb1970
Summary: Modern AU: Ardeth has just learned that he cannot fulfill any of his chieftain duties for at least two months, while his body heals. How will he react to this? Will be more to it if I get requests for further chapters.


Disclaimer: Ardeth Bey, the concept of the Med-jai, Rick O'Connell, Evy O'Connell, Beni Gabor, Jonathan Carnahan, and Imhotep belong to Stephen Sommers. Philip Callaghan, Kristen Adams, and Alexandra Moreau (Imhotep's wife) belong to Trilogy Productions and MGM (Poltergeist: The Legacy). All other characters you don't recognize, such as Celia Bey, belong to me. Don't mind if you borrow them. . .just ask first and give credit where credit is due. Please return all original characters intact.  
  
Author's Note: This story was written as a result of a challenge issued on one of my lists. A person could not do their job or their hobby for a time. . .how would they deal with the extra time. This is part of my modern Mummy series, in which the movies took place in the 1990's, rather than the 1920's & 1930's. There are several other stories that accompany this: 'A Med-jai in Middle Earth,' in which Ardeth is catapulted into Middle Earth during 'The Two Towers.' Followed by 'The Med-jai Legacy,' a crossover between The Mummy and Poltergeist: The Legacy, and it's in this story that Imhotep meets and falls in love with Alexandra Moreau, the beautiful and brilliant researcher for San Francisco Legacy House; 'Love's Echo,' a crossover with Stargate SG-1, in which the Med-jai and the SGC realize a Gou'ald is on Earth, and is among the Med-jai's greatest enemies. And an untitled crossover with 'X-men: Evolution.'  
  
Enjoy the story!  
  
The Mummy: Modern Universe  
  
An Unexpected Holiday  
  
He stared at the healer, trying to process what he was just told. And no matter how hard he tried, it just didn't. . . No chieftain duties. For at least a month. Possibly two, depending on how well his injuries healed. Ardeth slumped against the pillows that supported his head and back. No duties at all. Not even consulting with one of the Commanders. How on earth would he bear it? What would he do? He would go insane; there was no way he could do this! He looked first at the healer, then at his wife, then finally at his American brother. Of all the people in the room, he believed that he would find the most support from O'Connell.  
  
That was his first mistake. No. . .no, his first mistake was being injured in the first place. If he was more careful, if he planned correctly, O'Connell would have never been in a situation where he needed Ardeth's help. The chieftain closed his eyes, suddenly feeling very tired. A gentle hand brushed down his arm and without opening his eyes, he clasped his wife's hand. Celia said softly, "It's only for a month or two, love. And we both know how much you need to rest after you've been injured. It's a precaution."  
  
"I know that," Ardeth answered, his eyes still closed. How could he explain to his wife that being the chieftain was so much more than his duty, his task, his honor? It was his whole purpose for being, and right now, that purpose was being threatened. He controlled the desire to lash out at her, for several reasons. He knew she could handle it, but he also knew she didn't deserve his anger. He could never allow himself to forget how much Celia sacrificed for him. Nor could he forget how hard she worked as his wife, as the Med-jai queen. And how very much he loved her, and she loved him. Celia would do anything for him, he knew that. . . anything which didn't involve him making his injuries worse than they already were.  
  
The healer was merely doing his job. Imhotep was probably seeing to other injured, if he wasn't with his wife or resting (or both). He couldn't expect the healer to understand. And O'Connell. . .O'Connell couldn't begin to understand this time. The only job he had which defined him was that of husband and father. And Ardeth really didn't want him to understand the emptiness he now felt. O'Connell felt it briefly once, when Evelyn died. She came back to life, and Ardeth knew he would return to his duties. But. . .the next two months yawned in front of him like an abyss, and he was afraid. It shouldn't have frightened him, this unexpected holiday, but it did.  
  
A soft brush of lips across his forehead broke through his terror, and Celia whispered, "I'll be back in a few minutes, love. I should tell the children you'll be all right." The children. Of course. Miranda and Andreas would have been terrified, no doubt, when he was carried into their house. He was unconscious at the time. . .woke up in the bedroom he shared with Celia. Ardeth opened his eyes and smiled faintly at his wife. It relieved her mind, a little. . .Ardeth could see it in the lightening of her expression.  
  
And for the first time, he also saw how worried she was. Celia whispered in a voice meant only for him, "I love you. And I'll do everything I can to help you through the next few months." Ardeth swallowed hard. Perhaps he was wrong. . .perhaps she understood better than he thought she did. Celia kissed him one last time, brushed his hair from his eyes, and then smiled. Ardeth smiled back, in spite of his great terror.  
  
"I shall accompany you, my queen. No doubt the children would be relieved to see the healer out of their father's room. Where is the little one?" the Med-jai healer, Avram, asked in English. Celia grinned, pushing a lock of her own dark hair back. Avram looked at her, narrowing his eyes, and asked, "Why do I feel as if you. . .no. I will not ask, I do not wish to know. . .you are a very devious lady, my queen!"  
  
"My youngest is with her grandmother, being spoiled rotten. And Avram, I have *no* idea what you're talking about," Celia answered sweetly. She added under her breath, in Arabic, "And even if I did, a girl needs some secrets." Ardeth would have laughed at that, but his entire torso throbbed with pain, and if he laughed, he would be in agony. Worse than the mummy attack on the double-decker bus in London four years earlier. Much worse.  
  
And that brought him to another discovery. Four years since that night, since the defeat of Khaldun. Four years this woman was a part of his life. His pride in his wife distracted Ardeth briefly from the pain. She really was a hard-working queen. Since their marriage, Celia learned to speak Arabic rather fluently. It seemed, too, that she had an ear for languages, because in addition to Arabic, French, and English, she was also picking up Hebrew. That, he knew, was thanks to her interaction with Avram.  
  
Which was only right. Celia saved the healer's life, and in gratitude, Avram offered his services as a healer to the Med-jai. Totally unaware of his thoughts, Celia smiled again, winked, and sashayed from the room, Avram at her heels. O'Connell looked at Ardeth and shook his head, saying, "She scares me more and more everyday. At least when she talks like you, I know how to handle her." Ardeth gave his brother a Look, and O'Connell explained, "I'm used to the way you talk. Sort of. I'm not used to her halfway speech."  
  
Ah. Her speech patterns, described by Anatol as 'Med-jai American.' Celia still used her American slang (sometimes much to the chagrin of their tribes), but picked up an accent as a result of living with the Med-jai. O'Connell continued, "So. . .you're outta commission for two months, and you gotta figure out what to do with yourself in the meantime." Yes, that summed up the situation rather well. No chieftain duties, not even as an advisor. The twelve Commanders had to deal with all problems on their own.  
  
Not the first time this happened for any length of time. There were the six weeks of Ardeth's honeymoon. A gift from the Med-jai commanders for their chieftain and new queen. But. . .this was different. O'Connell suggested, "Try not to look at it as a jail sentence, but as an opportunity. For the next two months, you don't have to be a chieftain or a warrior. Just a man. You can spend more time with your kids, you can catch up on your reading. You can't make love to your wife just yet, but you can have some fun."  
  
Fun. Did Ardeth even remember how to have fun? He wasn't sure. And he said so, murmuring, "Ever since I was seventeen years old, 'fun' has been a few moments snatched here and there. I am not sure if I remember how to simply enjoy myself for more than a few moments here and there. Mother has Alia for the next few days. Do you know where the others are? I have not seen them since before the raid."  
  
O'Connell took a deep breath and began enumerating people on his fingers, "Let's see. Imhotep retired to the house he and Alex share. He said something about sleeping for the next year, although I highly doubt if he'll sleep more than a few hours. He and Alex couldn't keep their hands off each other, even as exhausted as they both were." Ardeth smiled. Imhotep and Alexandra were newlyweds, really, married for a little over a year. Of course they couldn't keep their hands off each other.  
  
However, he kept silent as O'Connell went on, "Kristen was injured during the raid. Philip is watching over her. I don't mind telling you, he totally freaked out when she collapsed. Kept muttering something like, 'not again, not again.' Alex knows what's going on, but she's not telling." That didn't surprise Ardeth, on either count. He knew, even if O'Connell didn't, the story behind that.  
  
Aexandra was vehemently protective of both her friends. All of her friends, of course, but Philip and Kristen were special. Philip was an old friend, someone whom she trusted and who trusted her. He encouraged her to trust her heart when she was falling in love with Imhotep. Kristen almost died a few years earlier. Alexandra's best friend, Julia, died many years earlier, and for a time, Alexandra believed she would lose Kristen as well. That was a terrible thing, to lose a friend. . .it happened often to Ardeth, and it was something he wished to spare others.  
  
O'Connell went on when it became clear that Ardeth wouldn't tell him what was going on with Philip, Alexandra, and Kristen, "Okay, that's Imhotep, Alex, Philip, Kristen. Who am I forgetting? Oh, of course, how stupid of me. Evy took our two troublemakers to Acacia's house. Ardeth, what were you thinking, letting your sister marry that loser? I mean, come on! Hasn't she been through enough? Her first husband dies, her second husband abandons her, and now she's married to Beni, of all people?"  
  
"He makes her laugh," Ardeth said mildly, "and he has proven himself worthy of his second chance many times during the last four years." Actually, it was three years now, but Ardeth wasn't really counting. He was still wary of Beni Gabor, and probably always would be, but as long as he didn't mistreat Ardeth's younger sister or the children, he would stay out of things. Acacia was happy, and that was the most important thing.  
  
O'Connell just grumbled. He still couldn't forgive Beni for leaving him to die, and Ardeth supposed he couldn't blame him. But Ardeth couldn't forget that Beni helped O'Connell and Imhotep save Ardeth, his wife, and their unborn child. He honored his debts, and could see that falling in love with Acacia was also the best thing which ever happened to the little man. The man who once left O'Connell to die would now kill for his wife and family.  
  
The two men fell silent for several moments, then O'Connell said, "You know. Evy has a whole stack of books she brought with us. Why don't you just think about it? Spend the next two months just being a man, a husband and a father. It's like you said. You've been chieftain of your people since you were seventeen years old. Don't look at this as. . .I dunno. But try to see it as a well-earned vacation."  
  
Ardeth smiled faintly. A vacation. He wasn't sure he knew how to take a vacation, since every time he tried to take a holiday, trouble either followed him and his family, or it was waiting for them. He went to England to prevent the Bracelet of Anubis from falling into the hands of Lock-nah and his men and almost died. He returned to Great Britain almost a year later for his honeymoon and almost died. He was catapulted into Middle Earth, and almost died. Holidays and vacations almost invariably meant a life or death situation.  
  
But what O'Connell said had merit. So many times in the last four years, Ardeth wished he could spend more time with his wife and children. Those children were growing up so fast. Miranda was almost eight, Andreas was three, and Alia was only a few months old. Spending time with them did sound good. Ardeth looked at O'Connell, musing, "A holiday, just being a husband and father. No deadly artifacts, no evil force trying to take over the world or wipe out humanity, and everything which should remain out of human eyes is under the sand."  
  
O'Connell grinned, putting in, "And no crazy friends trying to kill you because of something stupid they did. For the simple fact that if I even grabbed your collar, your wife would kill me." Ardeth grinned back at that. Yes, she would. Celia was as protective of him as Alexandra was of Imhotep. Neither woman took kindly to threats against the ones they loved. O'Connell grew serious, saying, "It ain't gonna be easy, buddy. You've been a damn workaholic your entire adult life. Fortunately, you got me, and you got Jonathan."  
  
O'Connell shook his head, muttering, "Your Irish twin is married to my little buddy Beni, and your baby sister is married to my brother-in-law. That's scary. That's just plain scary." Ardeth didn't know about that. He was far more comfortable with Jonathan's marriage to Aleta than O'Connell was. Then again, he was there when that love story began. He watched them fall in love. To him, it was as natural as his own love for Celia, or the ever-growing love between O'Connell and Evy.  
  
And truth be told, he didn't even find the pairing of Imhotep and Alexandra strange. One would think so, since he spent the first thirty years of his life fearing and hating Imhotep as the Creature. But the world changed, people changed. Fortunately, Ardeth also had the memories of his previous life, as Rameses, when Imhotep was one of his best friends. It made the transition easier. . .at least a little bit.  
  
"I accept your kind offer of help. . .so long as it does not include getting drunk again. Once was quite enough, I thank you," Ardeth replied. O'Connell just laughed, and Ardeth closed his eyes. He thought about it once more. Perhaps his American friend was right. Two months of being just another man, spending time with his treasured wife and their beautiful children. Of having no responsibilities, except to himself and to them. It sounded lovely.  
  
Ardeth only hoped that it didn't end up driving him crazy. 


End file.
